One Very Spooky Lake

Expect the Unexpected

I have a confession to make.  After living in Texas for half my life, snakes, lizards, nasty bugs, oversized amphibians, and creepy-crawly “things” can still strike terror in me. I have no problem with the creatures of the Lone Star State living alongside me, provided they keep their distance.  Living on a lake in the Piney Woods Region of East Texas, I tread softly outdoors, carefully keeping my eyes and ears on high alert. I avoid lurking copperheads, nasty fire-ant hills, razor-toothed amphibians, and gargantuan toads that sound like Texas Longhorns “mooing” mournfully in the dead of night.

A few miles down the road, straddling the Texas-Louisiana border, Caddo Lake is the most spooky, eerie, natural body of water in the Piney Woods Region. 

Caddo Lake, Texas

Recognized as the second-largest lake in the Southern U.S., Caddo includes 40 square miles (25,400 acres) of assorted bayous, wetlands, cypress swamps, ponds, and canals. With an average water depth of 8 to 10 feet, Caddo Lake is home to an impressive 973 species of plants and animals. Since 1993, the prestigious International Ramsar Convention has designated it a protected and preserved habitat.

Great Blue Heron iStock RBrown

Ladybird Lilly (honoring First Lady Ladybird Johnson) iStock Paolini

Nutria iStock BeritK

Despite its impressive assortment of flora and fauna, first-time visitors to Caddo Lake tend to be laser-focused on alligators, snakes, Spanish moss, and Bigfoot sightings — and for good reason.

Caddo is rated as one of the most alligator and snake-infested bodies of water in Texas, and it is one of the few places where Spanish moss grows abundantly.

Its waters support the world’s largest Bald Cypress forest, apparently to the liking of the legendary Bigfoot.

The controversial ape-beast is so active around Caddo Lake that the nearby town of Jefferson has been proclaimed the Bigfoot Capital of Texas.

Hey, I might live a few miles down the road, but my neck of the woods is not singled out for its gator and snake populations or its giant ape manifestations. So, as a first-time visitor to Caddo, I was as intrigued as any other newbie visitor.

American Alligator Waiting to Attack Me

The mere thought of paddling a canoe around Caddo Lake stirs up the scene of alligators swarming around me and snakes dropping from the Spanish moss that hangs from the Cypress trees lining the marshy shoreline. The gators fix their beady eyes on me while snapping their chops and wallopping their big, thick, armored tails against my flimsy canoe. Whack! Whack! Meanwhile, the menacing vipers shimmy down the gray/silver moss, point their venomous heads in my direction, hiss and rapidly flick their tongues.

STOP!!! GET ME OUT OF THIS SCENE!!!

Brainflash! Take Captain Ron’s Pontoon Boat Tour and view the wildlife from a safe distance.

Captain Ron & Pontoon Boat

Captain Ron runs his pontoon boat from Karnack, Texas, a small village along the Big Cypress Bayou that is part of the greater Caddo Lake Wetlands. My fears of being reduced to alligator fodder disappeared as I climbed on board and took a comfortable shaded seat well above the waterline.

NOW I was ready to see a GATOR in its natural environment.

Strategically, I was in one of the best geographical locations in Texas to see a live American Alligator (alligator mississippiensis). There are between 400,000 - 500,000 alligators in Texas, the majority of which are found in East Texas. The highest population of gators in East Texas is in Caddo Lake.

Here is some interesting information about Texas American Alligators:

• There is one alligator in Texas for every 58 people (1 gator/58 people).

• There are NO alligator attacks or fatalities on record for Caddo Lake.

• The largest alligator caught in Caddo was 13 feet, 2 inches, and weighed 900 pounds. It was caught in 2016.

• Alligators exert 2,980 PSI when they bite. However, they have NO lower teeth.

• Gators run 30 m.p.h. and swim 20 m.p.h. — much faster than a human!

• Alligators avoid humans.

  Although gators are found in EVERY lake within a 200-mile radius of our house, there are NONE in the lake we live on. That’s my husband’s story, and he’s sticking to it.

Alligator With an Eye on My Hubs iStock McMillin

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The vegetation increased along the shore as Ron maneuvered the pontoon boat down the Bayou and through a meandering maze of water pathways. The Bald Cypress trees, some of which were 600 to 1,000 years old, towered 60 feet above the water, supported by their fluted bases and unique sustaining root system. Unlike other coniferous trees, Bald Cypress trees shed their leaves, making fall the most picturesque time to visit Caddo. Furthermore, it isn’t a sweltering 105°F (41°C) at that time of the year.

Caddo Lake, the Largest Baldcypress Forest on Earth iStock Pfeil

Spanish moss hanging from the branches of the Bald Cypress trees adds to the enchanting beauty of the Caddo wetlands.

Spanish moss is highly sensitive to air pollution and can only be found in areas with clean, unpolluted air. It has been described as “nature’s air purifier” because its minuscule hair-like scales, called “trichomes,” absorb moisture, nutrients, and air-borne debris from rain.

Trichomes magnified 20 X

No wonder it doesn’t thrive in pollution— it soaks everything in the air!

Spanish Moss

Spanish moss is NOT a moss. It is a bromeliad and technically belongs to the same plant family as pineapples and succulents. It drapes over the tree branches; it is not attached. Dry Spanish moss is gray/silver; however, as it soaks up water, it turns kelly green, softens, and can expand tenfold its size. It is a vital and beneficial part of the Caddo Lake ecosystem.

People have been finding new and creative uses for Spanish moss since the dinosaur age. Before you just reach up and grab yourself a handful from an overhead branch, be forewarned that frogs, lizards, snakes, bats, and many types of insects nestle amidst the intricate camouflage of the Spanish moss.

Bald Cypress & Spanish Moss iStock fotoguy

A word of caution as we turn into this ominous waterway: 32 species of snakes slither and swim around Caddo Lake. Five species are poisonous, and four species climb trees. Two tree climbers, the Western Rat Snake and the Diamondback Water Snake, are frequently mistaken for their poisonous cousin, the Western Cottonmouth.

If a snake dangles from the Spanish moss and dive-bombs you from above— DO NOT PANIC.

If its head is cylindrical or blunt and it has round pupils, it is either a harmless Rat Snake or a Diamondback. If it has a triangular head and vertical eyes…

Seriously?!! The genius who gives that sage advice is out of their skull!! If a snake plops out of the sky and ambushes me, I guarantee you I will NOT calmly evaluate the shape of its head and scrutinize the pupils of its eyes. Am I supposed to get nose-to-nose, eye-to-eye with the serpent to decide if it’s a problem or not? ANY SNAKE pulling a Spanish-moss-pounce on me is a PROBLEM!

The area surrounding Caddo Lake has been a hotspot for Bigfoot sightings for hundreds of years. Native Americans, the area’s first inhabitants, called Bigfoot the “Caddo Critter” and they have passed down volumes of stories about the creature from one generation to the next.

Sign on Trails - Caddo Lake

The nearby town of Jefferson hosts the annual Texas Bigfoot Conference attended by hundreds of reputable researchers, North American primatologists, investigators, and recreational Bigfoot hunters. Attendance at the conference increases each year.

Is Bigfoot lurking around your neck of the woods? The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) maintains a database of records and credible sightings in Canada and the United States. Only sightings that have met strict, verifiable investigative criteria are published on the BFRO website. To check sightings in your area: https://bfro.net. You might be surprised by what you discover!

Captain Ron’s pontoon boat skimmed over the water of the Big Cypress Bayou as we headed back to the loading dock at Karnack.

I did not see any alligators.

I did not see any snakes

I did not see any Bigfoot.

Thank goodness!